Changes in student entry competencies 1991-2001

Lawson, Duncan

doi:10.1093/teamat/22.4.171

Cited by 32 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…She concluded that the 'Leaving Certificate Examination is awarding the same grade for a similar average level of mathematical ability as it was ten years ago. ' Lawson [3,p.174 [3] although not to the same extent, is evident in the UL database utilized in this study.…”

Section: Comparison Of Students With Similar Leaving Certificate Mathmentioning

confidence: 82%

“…[1][2][3][4][5] This phenomenon in which students are under prepared for the mathematical demands of their undergraduate courses is regularly referred to as the 'Maths Problem'. [6] The declining standards of beginning undergraduates' basic mathematical skills coupled with the recent findings that over four-fifths of school leavers in Ireland reported significant differences in approaches to teaching and learning between secondary level and further/higher education, highlight the challenges encountered by students when commencing their tertiary studies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Trends in basic mathematical competencies of beginning undergraduates in Ireland, 2003–2013

Treacy

Faulkner²

2015

International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Deficiencies in beginning undergraduate students' basic mathematical skills has been an issue of concern in higher education, particularly in the past 15 years. This issue has been tracked and analysed in a number of universities in Ireland and internationally through student scores recorded in mathematics diagnostic tests. Students beginning their science-based and technology-based undergraduate courses in the University of Limerick have had their basic mathematics skills tested without any prior warning through a 40 question diagnostic test during their initial service mathematics lecture since 1998. Data gathered through this diagnostic test have been recorded in a database kept at the university and explored to track trends in mathematical competency of these beginning undergraduates. This paper details findings surrounding an analysis of the database between 2003 and 2013, outlining changes in mathematical competencies of these beginning undergraduates in an attempt to determine reasons for such changes. The analysis found that the proportion of students tested through this diagnostic test that are predicted to be at risk of failing their service mathematics end-of-semester examinations has increased significantly between 2003 and 2013. Furthermore, when students' performance in secondary level mathematics was controlled, it was determined that the performance of beginning undergraduates in 2013 was statistically significantly below that of the performance of the beginning undergraduates recorded 10 years previously.

show abstract

Section: Comparison Of Students With Similar Leaving Certificate Mathmentioning

confidence: 82%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trends in basic mathematical competencies of beginning undergraduates in Ireland, 2003–2013

Treacy

Faulkner²

2015

International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Previous research informed this hypothesis as it was determined that the execution of basic mathematical skills by beginning undergraduates in the UL database was in decline in the period 1998-2008 (Faulkner, Hannigan, and Fitzmaurice 2014) and the period 2003(Treacy and Faulkner 2015. The authors anticipated that evidence of grade dilution would be present between 2008 and 2014 as there are indicators in their previous research that such an issue was emerging during the phased introduction of the Project Maths syllabus (Treacy and Faulkner 2015).…”

Section: Research Questions and Hypothesismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Commonly cited characteristics of this issue include a lack of basic mathematical skills, fragmented understanding, inadequate concept knowledge, and inability to successfully solve mathematical problems. The 'Maths Problem' has been highlighted as an issue of concern in Ireland, the UK, Australia, and the US (Lawson 2003;O'Donoghue 2004;Gill et al 2010;Treacy and Faulkner 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysing the correlation between secondary mathematics curriculum change and trends in beginning undergraduates’ performance of basic mathematical skills in Ireland

Treacy

Faulkner²,

Prendergast

2016

Irish Educational Studies

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Much of this concern has focused on the longstanding mathematical under-preparedness of incoming third level students, as issue which is regularly referred to as the 'Maths Problem' (Howson et al, 1995). This phenomenon in which students are under-prepared for the mathematical demands of their undergraduate course, dates back many decades and has been reported in countries such as Ireland (Cleary, 2007;Faulkner et al, 2010), the U.K. (Edwards, 1995;Lawson, 2003), and more recently Portugal (Carr et al, 2015). The 'Maths Problem' is characterised by beginning undergraduates displaying a lack of basic mathematical skills, as well as fragmented understanding, inadequate concept knowledge, and an inability to successfully solve mathematical problems (Rylands & Coady, 2009;Gill, O'Donoghue, Faulkner, Hannigan, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Mind the gap: an initial analysis of the transition of a second level curriculum reform to higher education

Prendergast

Faulkner²,

Breen³

et al. 2017

Teaching Mathematics Applications

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This paper details an initial analysis of the transition of a second level curriculum reform to higher education in Ireland. The reform entitled 'Project Maths' involved changes to what second level students learn in mathematics, how they learn it and how they are assessed. Changes were rolled out nationally on a phased basis in September 2010. Students who were taught and assessed through the new curriculum first entered third level education in September 2012. It is important that third level mathematics lecturers are aware of the changes to the curriculum since certain topics such as vectors and matrices are no longer taught at second level. Hence third level courses may need to be adapted accordingly. This study investigates mathematics lecturers' awareness of Project Maths and whether they have made any adaptions to their course content, teaching and assessment approaches as a result of the new curriculum being introduced. The findings, from a return rate of 23% of eligible respondents, show that although many lecturers are mindful of the concept of Project Maths, they are not aware of the changes in full and how it affects their own course content, teaching and assessment strategies. Accordingly, the gap between second and third level education remains. This study highlights that more needs to be done to ensure there is coherent and uniform approaches to the teaching, learning and assessment of mathematics in the transition from second to third level education.

show abstract

Changes in student entry competencies 1991-2001

Cited by 32 publications

References 0 publications

Trends in basic mathematical competencies of beginning undergraduates in Ireland, 2003–2013

Trends in basic mathematical competencies of beginning undergraduates in Ireland, 2003–2013

Analysing the correlation between secondary mathematics curriculum change and trends in beginning undergraduates’ performance of basic mathematical skills in Ireland

Mind the gap: an initial analysis of the transition of a second level curriculum reform to higher education

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About